Every Monday, we catch you up on the happenings in the NBA. This week, we’re giving out a grade for each team post-All-Star break. Now that we’ve resumed play, we can look at how each team has done this season so far. Are teams performing up to their expectations, and what’s the outlook the rest of the way?

We also have the extended version of the NBA Stock Report, a Monday staple in The Bounce. That’s our free NBA newsletter that you can sign up for and receive every day in your inbox.

The Big Rewind: Grading all 30 teams

It’s important that people don’t call the portion of the season after the All-Star break the “second half of the season.” It’s not. Every team comes out of the break with fewer than 30 games left. That means this is officially “the stretch run.” Or for the teams that are tanking, the “stretch saunter because we’re going to say our best players are out for the rest of the season with a surgery they probably needed in the summer.” Allegedly!

Anyway, the stretch run starting is the perfect time to give out grades to all 30 teams. That’s what we’re doing today in the NBA Rewind.

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons (42-13): I have a lot of questions about how good this team can be offensively in a playoff series, but they’ve so clearly been the best team in the East all season long. Not bad for a 14-win team two years ago. Grade: A+

2. Boston Celtics (37-19): Losing Al Horford, Kristaps Porziņģis, Luke Kornet and Jrue Holiday (plus Jayson Tatum so far) and still having the second-best record in the East is a remarkable feat. I’m not sure you could have asked the Celtics to play better. Grade: A+

3. New York Knicks (37-21): The Knicks haven’t been very consistent in accumulating one of the top records in the NBA. They are supposed to win the East, but their showing against Detroit (0-3, minus-84 point differential) definitely has people scratching their heads. Grade: A-

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (36-22): We probably have to put the image of last season’s Cavs out of our heads. This Cavs team is on a hot streak, though, and the addition of James Harden has many expecting a big playoff run. Grade: B

5. Toronto Raptors (34-23): Everybody criticized the Raptors for being too expensive in the summer, but they’ve been fueled by their defense and two All-Stars. If this team can win a playoff series, it will be on cloud nine. Grade: A-

6. Philadelphia 76ers (31-26): The Sixers missed their guys for so much of last season and were a complete disaster before they decided to tank. This Sixers team still doesn’t have consistency from Joel Embiid and Paul George, yet Tyrese Maxey and company have been very successful. Grade: A

7. Orlando Magic (30-26): This team has played far below expectations this season, and it’s not even an elite defense anymore. Yes, the Magic have had injuries, but they can’t pin their shortcomings on that. They just aren’t good enough. Grade: D-

8. Miami Heat (31-27): The Heat completely changed how they play (they’re the fastest they’ve ever been), and it’s given them a jolt. But it ultimately still comes down to their defense being great and trying to figure out how to play Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware together. Grade: B

9. Atlanta Hawks (28-31): They made a big change in sending out Trae Young. It was the right call, but this team was never close to their “sleeper in the East” status from this summer. They’re still very much the Hawks. Grade: C-

10. Charlotte Hornets (27-31): The Hornets went from 7-18 to one of the most fun and surprisingly dangerous teams in the East. Charles Lee turned this squad around, and the final record won’t matter at all. This is a massive success story out of nowhere. Grade: A

11. Milwaukee Bucks (24-31): The Bucks have been faced with more questions about trading Giannis Antetokounmpo than their play on the court. This roster is bad but still has a chance to be in the Play-In Tournament with the hopes that Giannis will save them. Grade: C+

12. Chicago Bulls (24-34): The Bulls still haven’t completely committed to an outright rebuild, but they took a major step toward it. I have no idea what their best future assets are outside of Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis, but it looks like they’ve embraced their reality. Grade: C-

13. Washington Wizards (16-40): The Wizards made waves this season by trading for Anthony Davis and Young. We have no idea if we’ll see them in a Washington uniform, but they’re on the team. The rest of the team has shown some good development, but it’s still bad enough for lottery night to matter. Grade: C

14. Brooklyn Nets (15-41): The Nets were always determined to be bad this season, but I think people wanted to see some development out of them. Instead, we just confirmed that Michael Porter Jr. can score, and we’re still not sure about their quintet of rookies. Grade: D+

15. Indiana Pacers (15-43): The Pacers probably shouldn’t have been this bad, but they made a big move by getting Ivica Zubac for when they expect to compete next season. Nailing this draft pick will make this season all worth it. Grade: D

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (44-14): This is still the best team in the West, despite dealing with some key injuries. But going from the invincible mystique the Thunder had at the start of the season to “just” a great team now definitely brings the grade down. Grade: A-

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is injured, but OKC is holding onto its spot atop the West. (Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)

2. San Antonio Spurs (40-16): They missed Victor Wembanyama for a couple of weeks, and they are still charging toward the best record in the conference. The Spurs are way ahead of schedule with this leap, and everything from here on out is icing on the crepe. Grade: A+

3. Denver Nuggets (36-22): You have to factor in how much the Nuggets have dealt with injuries, and maybe giving them an A- with those injuries is a little harsh. They still have championship expectations, but we need to see the elite level again. Grade: A-

4. Houston Rockets (34-21): Something feels off with this Rockets team. Adding Kevin Durant was a no-brainer, but we are not seeing them look like they’ve taken it to a higher level than last season. They could really use a strong finish. Grade: B

5. Los Angeles Lakers (34-21): The Lakers have been highly mediocre until you look at their record. Yes, the injuries have been all over the place, but the team isn’t good with its three best players on the floor together. I’m truly baffled about what to expect with them. Grade: B

6. Minnesota Timberwolves (35-23): The Wolves still give away too many games to teams they’re supposed to beat, but Anthony Edwards’ improvement and Julius Randle’s renewed play have been brilliant. We’ll see if it means another deep playoff run. Grade: B+

7. Phoenix Suns (33-25): The injuries to Devin Booker (before) and now Dillon Brooks have mostly ruined their chances to really make teams nervous in the playoffs. I’m not sure how much better this Suns’ season could have gone, especially with such low expectations. Grade: A

8. Golden State Warriors (30-27): Even before the Jimmy Butler injury, this Warriors team looked pretty average most nights. Now with Steph Curry nursing a knee injury, the Warriors will probably fall into the No. 9 vs. No. 10 Play-In matchup. Grade: C

9. Portland Trail Blazers (28-30): The Blazers have been so inconsistent this season, and they’ve dealt with a ton of injuries to their backcourt. And yet, they’re in the Play-In and kind of getting healthy, and this is all with their coach on leave. Grade: B

10. LA Clippers (27-30): The Clippers had an embarrassing start but turned it around almost perfectly. Then they traded away Harden and Zubac. I have no idea what to expect from them the rest of the way, but I’m enjoying Kawhi Leonard reminding everybody how elite he is. Grade: C+

11. Memphis Grizzlies (21-34): The Grizzlies bailed on this season and moved completely toward development when they traded Jaren Jackson Jr. at the deadline. They would have moved Ja Morant, too, if they could. Now it’s all about figuring out the path for their young guys. Grade: C-

12. Dallas Mavericks (20-36): They’ve become atrocious on the court, traded away Davis and shut down Kyrie Irving for the entire season. However, Cooper Flagg is the real deal, and they fired former GM Nico Harrison. Probably a win for the Mavs fans overall. Grade: D+

13. Utah Jazz (18-39): The Jazz have embraced tanking in such an egregious way that it led to a half-million-dollar fine. They need to protect their pick owed to OKC (top eight), but we’ve seen some really encouraging development from some young guys on the roster. Grade: C-

14. New Orleans Pelicans (16-42): The Pelicans were hoping to be good and even banked on it by trading away their first-round pick to Atlanta. They’ve shown a lot from their young players, except when it comes to winning games. This year, it’s not even the injuries that are making them lose. Grade: F

15. Sacramento Kings (12-46): This team was awful when injuries didn’t happen. This team was awful when the injuries did happen. They’ve reached new lows that no other Kings team has fallen to before. If they don’t nail this draft pick, it’s going to get really dark. Grade: F

Stock Report Extended: All-Star Edition

📈 San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are the hottest team in the NBA, winning eight straight games. They’re within three games of OKC for the top spot, and San Antonio has the tiebreaker. This Spurs team is doing it on both ends of the floor. Its offense has been nearly as suffocating as its defense. Yes, the Mavs and Kings have been a part of this win streak, but the Spurs also dominated the Lakers, Suns and whatever is left of the Warriors. They’ll take this win streak into Detroit on Monday night.

This is their second eight-game win streak of the season. We haven’t seen a double-digit win streak from the Spurs since the 2015-16 season, when they won 13 in a row. The Spurs have officially regained their form as one of the best teams in the league. It’s something they held onto for 22 years under Gregg Popovich but had to restart by adopting the youth/tanking movement years ago. The young players are driving the ship, the veterans are supporting everything and the Spurs look like they’ll be contending sooner than we expected.

Chicago acquired Jaden Ivey ahead of the trade deadline. Now he’s out due to knee soreness. (Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)

📉 Chicago Bulls. In case you were wondering whether the Bulls are interested in tanking toward some lottery help, they’ve now lost nine straight. Three of these nine losses have been by single digits, but the Bulls are getting annihilated most nights. Their average margin of defeat during this streak is 16.5 points, which is pretty dead-on considering they have four different losses in this streak by exactly 16 points. Their defense has been the third-worst in the NBA over the last couple of weeks, and their offense has been the second-worst.

The Bulls currently hold the ninth spot in the draft without any lottery movement, but they’re actually tied in the loss column with Memphis (holding the eighth spot). And they’re just two losses “behind” the Mavs for seventh in the lottery odds. The Bulls just announced Zach Collins is done for the season, and Jaden Ivey is going to miss the next couple of weeks. I’d be shocked if their main players see a lot of time the rest of the season.

📈 Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs have won 12 of their last 14, and they’re 5-1 since acquiring Harden. The impressive things about this stretch are the upheaval the trade deadline threw at the roster and how little they’ve had Evan Mobley on the court. The Cavs said goodbye to De’Andre Hunter and Darius Garland, and Mobley has only played in six of these 14 games. Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Jaylon Tyson have been tremendous during this stretch, and Harden has shot lights out in the brief time he’s been in Cleveland.

The Cavs haven’t faced the toughest opponents since Harden got there. They beat the Wizards, Nets and Kings during this six-game stretch. They barely beat Charlotte, which they’re supposed to do, although the Hornets have been much better the last two months. Even though they made a comeback on Sunday, the Cavs showed some concerns with how this team might look defensively. They gave up so many easy and open looks to an OKC team missing its two best players. Mitchell and Harden defending the perimeter together might end up being worse than Mitchell and Garland. But they need time to jell.

📉 Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs beat the Pacers on Sunday to snap a nine-game losing streak, but things have still been pretty bleak outside of Flagg. He’s injured with a mid-foot sprain, so things could get a lot uglier. Technically, this is exactly where they want to be headed: plummeting toward the bottom of the standings so they can improve their chances at landing high in the lottery. The traffic jam in that free-fall will be intense, but they don’t control their first-round pick again until 2031, so this is the prime spot for them to chase the lottery balls instead of wins on the court.

We know once they start putting the right pieces around Flagg, they won’t have any interest in tanking anyway. Their nine-game losing streak was all against good opponents, so it’s not like they embarrassed themselves. Their next three games are against Brooklyn, Sacramento and Memphis. These are where the true tankers separate themselves from the franchises that don’t have the stomach to truly lean into it.

📈 Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have won five straight, and their point differential during that streak is enormous. They’ve won those five games by a total of 93 points, and 53 of that point differential comes from two games against the Knicks. This Pistons team is in a tremendous groove. It’s kind of difficult to carve up sections of the season to examine the Pistons because they’ve been good the entire season. They’ve only lost back-to-back games twice this season. It happened right around Thanksgiving with losses to Boston and Orlando. Then it happened again right after Christmas with losses to Utah and the Clippers. So I guess major U.S. holidays are the time to expect it? Does St. Patrick’s Day count as that? (Memorial Day would be bad timing with the postseason!)

Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart have only played in two of these five games of the win streak because of the Wreck ‘Em at the Spectrum incident. The Pistons have struggled a lot shooting the ball from outside this season, but they’re making 39.1 percent of their 3-pointers in this win streak. If they even approach that level of outside shooting the rest of the way, a lot of the questions about their offense being playoff-ready will get quiet.

📉 Sacramento Kings. There was a point this season when you’d look at the Kings at 12-30, thinking that this is not the season they were expecting to have with that roster. Maybe you thought they’ve had some tough luck. Since then, they’ve lost 16 straight games, which is a franchise record. The Kings have had some horrendous teams and seasons in their history, and yet they’ve never been this bad for so many games. The Kings have some injuries to blame, but they’ve also sunk into just how bad they can be. The hope is that the 14 percent chance of winning the lottery will come through for them. The last time the Kings had the No. 1 pick was when they selected Pervis Ellison in 1989. Their next four games are in Memphis, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles for the Lakers. The tank battle with Dallas could be special.

📈 Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are hoping to find some level of magic to convince Giannis that he can trust them with his future for championship contention. As of late, they’ve looked a lot better without him on the court. Milwaukee has won six of its last eight games. The Bucks have been an offensive juggernaut in these games, and the last four have happened with the addition of Cam Thomas. He’s giving them a legitimate scorer to add to the mix, and the Bucks have to be hoping this added offensive punch will make Giannis raise an eyebrow or two.